Spectral Doctor of the Metropolis

"Physiognomy, fortune-telling, bone analysis, fate-changing, feng shui, exorcism, demon hunting, medical treatment, and all kinds of difficult and complicated illnesses. I'm a master of everything! Anyone who needs help, come and see me." "Friends, brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts, come and see me. Don't ask for money. Only pay after you've seen me." "Don't miss this opportunity if you're passing by. If you miss this one, you'll have to wait for the next. I specialize in treating difficult and complicated illnesses, all kinds of ailments that others can't. Anyone who needs help, come and see me. Take a look." "..." August 28, 2019. On an overpass in the imperial capital, a seventeen or eighteen-year-old man was shouting his fare diligently. He wore a well-worn white T-shirt, a pair of khaki casual shoes, and a pair of black casual leather shoes with the toes worn and peeling, and a few specks of mud still splattered on them. Beside this man lay a large canvas bag, washed to a bleached white, and in front of him lay a sheet of white paper with the words "Professional Fortune Teller and Medical Treatment" written in large letters. This man's name was Yindang (fourth tone), a name his grandfather had given him based on his birth date. He was originally a farmer from the southwestern mountains. According to his grandfather, his family was a lineage of ghost healers descended from the Taoist tradition of Mount Emei, skilled in both Taoism and medicine. As long as Yindang could remember, he had studied Chinese and Taoist medicine with his grandfather. A gifted and intelligent man, he had already mastered all of his grandfather's teachings by the age of seventeen. In his village, he was renowned for his ability to treat illnesses and exorcise evil spirits by burning eggs. As times progressed, even descendants of ghost healers needed to acquire modern knowledge. Yindang was an excellent student, achieving the highest score in the county before being admitted to Imperial Capital University. With school about to start, his family gave him 6,600 yuan—6,000 yuan for tuition and the remaining 600 yuan for travel and living expenses—to enroll at Imperial Capital University. Fearing he would miss the registration deadline, Yin Dang, who had never been to a major city, set off seven days early. He walked for half a day, took a bus for a day, and then took a train for two days before finally reaching China's largest city. However, when he arrived in the Imperial Capital, he was embarrassed. It was only the 28th, four days before the start of the Imperial Capital University semester. Even worse was the fact that after paying the 6,000 yuan tuition, he only had five yuan left. With a rumbling stomach, Yin Dang found a noodle shop and prepared to order a bowl of noodles, but the cheapest bowl cost ten yuan. He ultimately managed to buy half a bowl of noodles and a bowl of noodle soup for five yuan. With no living expenses, Yin Dang was forced to resort to using his ancestral Taoist medicine skills to raise some money. "Professional fortune teller, no money required. Specializing in treating difficult and complicated illnesses, no money required." Even as Yin Dang shouted, no one came over. Instead, passersby pointed and talked at him. Some covered their faces and cursed him under their breath, calling him "country bumpkin" and "swindler," then quietly left. After shouting for about an hour, a spirited, white-bearded, elderly man in his seventies or eighties, who had been watching for a while, finally came over, stood in front of Yin Dang, and said, "Young man, I see you're only seventeen or eighteen. It's immoral for you to try to scam people at such a young age." Hearing the old man's words, Yin Dang immediately explained, "Don't worry, Grandpa. These are my family's inherited skills. I won't ask for money." The old man shook his head and said, "What inherited skills? They're all a lie. Exorcism? We live in an atheist world now. Where do ghosts come from?" "Ghosts do exist in this world. Not only ghosts, but also monsters and other things. They're just invisible to you ordinary people," Yin Dang said seriously. "Hey! I think you might be a little bit mentally ill," the old man sighed. Yin Dang said unhappily, "Why are you still scolding me? I respect you as an elder and won't argue with you. Do you want a palm reading or medical treatment? I can help you. It's not expensive at all. Since you're old, I'll only charge you thirty yuan." "Oh! Only thirty! That's much cheaper than those high-end scammers who claim to be masters. Why not give this guy a try and see how long he can keep up his pretense?" The old man thought for a moment, his interest piqued. He immediately squatted down and extended his right hand, saying, "Then read my palm. If it's accurate, I'll give you fifty." "Fifty? Holy crap! This must be a wealthy old man. Cool!" Yin Dang was secretly pleased. In their village, palm readings usually cost thirty yuan, and only the wealthy would tip an extra twenty. Yin Dang immediately smiled and said, "Well, I'm accurate. You can take back what you said before. I'm really not a scammer." "Okay, no problem," the old man readily agreed. Fortune-telling, in essence, is simply telling people what they want to tell you, and telling them what they want to tell you. It's similar to cold reading in psychology: you try to understand someone's mind and follow their line of thought. To put it bluntly, it's just deception. However, truly skilled Taoists can use their Daoist teachings to understand the past and present. However, such divination goes against the laws of nature and can easily shorten a Taoist's lifespan, so it's generally not practiced. Yin Dang glanced at the old man's right hand and said with a professional smile, "Grandpa, please show me your left hand." "Oh, okay!" The old man held out his left hand. Yin Dang examined it carefully before speaking in a pretentious manner, "Grandpa, your first half of life was quite turbulent, wasn't it?" The old man nodded. "Yes, that's right. People my age often experience many ups and downs in their youth." "Also, when you were thirty-six, you experienced a major disaster, but later met a benefactor who averted it, right?" Yin Dang said seriously, looking at the old man. The old man was astonished. He had indeed experienced a great disaster that year and met a man. If it weren't for that man, he would be dead by now. This guy is quite interesting. He immediately said, "That's true. You're quite accurate." "Hey! In your fifties, you started to prosper and become increasingly wealthy, right?" Yin Dang paused, observing the old man's palm. The old man suddenly laughed and said, "Haha~~, yes, you can predict something else." "Have you been feeling strange lately?" Yin Dang continued. The old man nodded and said, "Yes, I've been feeling like something's following me lately, but I can't put my finger on it." "Hehe. That's because you're being haunted by an evil spirit," Yin Dang said. "What should I do?" the old man asked. "Wait, let me examine your palm. It's dark and withered, indicating a lack of energy and a weak immune system. Also, look at the area on the thumb side of your lifeline and the angle between the lifeline and the wisdom line. It's abnormal. Your liver isn't in good condition, and I'm afraid the problem is quite serious now. This is all related to the demonic presence," Yin Dang said, examining the old man's palm again. The old man frowned, clearly having spoken to a deep feeling. He remained silent for a long moment. Meanwhile, Yin Dang looked at the old man quietly and said, "Grandpa, I'm afraid you have an illness. However, I'm 80% confident I can cure it." "Oh, really? Can you really cure it?" the old man asked expectantly. Yindang said naively, "Yes, but it's a bit troublesome. The treatment is quite expensive. And it shouldn't be confused with the cost of a palm reading." Just then, a figure approached from the other side of the overpass. Wearing a hat and a blue short-sleeved shirt, her delicate face was fair and white. Every step she took exuded an extraordinary aura, a presence dozens of times more impressive than the village beauties of Yindang's village. Accompanying this figure were two "bodyguards" who looked almost as handsome as the other one. "What a beautiful woman! How wonderful it would be if she could be my wife." This was the first time Yindang had ever seen such a thing, and he didn't even hear what the old man beside him said. He walked straight towards Yindang, who immediately put on what he considered his most handsome smile and asked, "Want a fortune-teller?" "Your sister!"